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Current tekmar thermostats and radiators

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blues4orce
blues4orce Member Posts: 5
in Thermostats and Controls
Greetings. I did a retrofit with tekmar controls on the hydronic system at my previous house. Fantastic results, easy install. Now, in a new-to-me house and looking to repeat the exercise. It's been about 10 years since that first job, and obviously the product line has moved forward.

I have 4 zones, 2 with fin/tube baseboard and 2 with cast iron radiators, as well as an indirect DHW. The 401 House Control looked like it might be a good fit. So I started reading the install guide, but couldn't find the setting for the Terminal Unit type that I had been familiar with on my previous system. Apparently this has been moved to each thermostat. Makes sense...

But then I started reading the install guides for their current thermostats, and while they do have a configuration setting for Terminal Unit type, none of them appear to have an option for radiators. They have high- and low-mass radiant floors, fan-coil, fin-tube and "other". I've looked at the 532, 552, 553 and 554.

Am I missing something here or misunderstanding how I would set this up? Have they given up on radiators? :neutral:

Thanks for any insight.

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  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,569
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    Tekmar has gone through a buyout by watts radiant since your last project and changed some things. I am not sure about the setting you mentioned.
    I am always curious what the attraction is to the Tekmar system?They do provide a convenient way for contractors with limited controls knowledge to take advantage of control strategies like indoor and outdoor feedback as well as some basic integral derivative features.
    My experience has been that Tekmar makes the setup so complicated that they are usually setup incorrectly.
    That and the lack of shielded wire can make the controller do some very unusual and undesirable things from time to time...
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • blues4orce
    blues4orce Member Posts: 5
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    Hi Zman. So are there alternatives that you'd recommend looking at? Thanks.
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,569
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    I guess it comes down to what you are trying to accomplish and what deficiencies your system has. A simple outdoor reset controller, zone controller and t-stats is much simpler.
    What type of boiler and how many wires to the t-stats?
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • blues4orce
    blues4orce Member Posts: 5
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    My system currently has an atmospheric gas-fired Burnham boiler, 4 zones (2 with cast iron radiators, 2 with fin/tube baseboard), indirect DHW. Most t-stat locations have 3 wires, 1 has only 2--though I could likely pull a new run for that one--the others cannot be rewired without opening walls.

    My main goal is to improve comfort without negatively impacting fuel consumption.

    As with my previous house, this one is a mix of old and new construction, open spaces, high ceilings, large windowed rooms, wood stoves, etc. all of which contribute to unbalanced and changing needs for heating.

    Definitely needs outdoor reset and given the mix of situations, preferably indoor feedback, too. As I said earlier, the tekmar stuff worked magic in my previous house, so I'm looking for similar functionality--or a believable argument that similar results can be achieved with less sophisticated gear...
  • blues4orce
    blues4orce Member Posts: 5
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    I should also add that I'd really like a setup that can accommodate additional room sensors to average temperatures within a zone.
  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,569
    edited January 2018
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    Given your goals and success with Tekmar, that may be the trick. Maybe I have just had a bad run.
    Give tech support a call and see what they have to say about the setting changes.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • KVieira
    KVieira Member Posts: 5
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    check out the zone control system from HBX Controls. It can do all that you and more.
    http://www.hbxcontrols.com/zon-0550.php

    http://www.hbxcontrols.com/thm-0500.php
  • blues4orce
    blues4orce Member Posts: 5
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    Thanks KVieira. I'll check them out.

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